The gums or periodontal tissues of those suffering gum and other diseases of the oral cavity often become inflamed and subject to laceration and bleeding. Under such circumstances, maintenance of desired oral hygiene is difficult, and patients find it painful to maintain desired dental hygiene by brushing and flossing the teeth.
With a view to obviating the above problem, a variety of compositions have in the past been evolved combining a variety of healing and pain relieving agents.
Thus, Gault in U.S. Pat. No. 3,929,555 discloses a speckle particle for addition to a dentrifice in which allantoin, aluminum dihydroxy allantoinate or aluminum chlorhydroxy allantoinate is employed to promote healing and to combat sensitivity of dental tissue.
Lukaschek et al in German published patent application 24 29 035 filed June 18, 1974; and Hofacker in German published patent application 25 29 271 filed July 1, 1975 also disclose the desirability of using allantoin in mouth and dental care compounds.
In Vol. 37, No. 2, p. 129 of Soap, Perfumes and Cosmetics of Feb. 1964, Mecca discloses the desirability of combining sulfur with allantoin to treat acne. Gearheart in U.S. Pat. No. 1,558,160 discloses the use of sulfur in a gum massage preparation, and in Chemical Abstract, Vol. 89, 1978, there is a reference to Nomura's disclosure of combining allantoin and sulfur to treat athlete's foot.
Notwithstanding the above prior art, there has been no successful use of compositions containing sulfur and allantoin to treat oral cavity tissues.
Further, it has been recognized that desired healing is promoted by eliminating acid from the areas to be treated. Though a variety of antacids are available, it has been discovered that trometamol, chemically known as trihydroxymethylaminomethane is more effective than sodium bicarbonate in buffering metabolic acids when used in neonatal asphyxia. (See Martindale, The Extra Pharmacopoeia, 27th Ed., 1977, pp. 570-571.)
It is also known as discussed in the above Martindale reference that with trimetamol solutions of more than 3.6% in water, tissue damage may occur in the event of extravasation at the injection site of an injection of a trimetamol solution.